While the Battle of Kursk has long captivated World War II aficionados, it has been unjustly overlooked by historians. Drawing on the masses of new information made available by the opening of the Russian military archives, Dennis E. Showalter at last corrects that error. This battle was the critical turning point on World War II's Eastern Front. In the aftermath of the Red Army's brutal repulse of the Germans at Stalingrad, the stakes could not have been higher.

5 out of 5 stars

Rich got ot right

By
Frank J. Habic
on
08-28-13

D DAY Through German Eyes

The Hidden Story of June 6th 1944

By:
Holger Eckhertz

Narrated by:
P. J. Ochlan

Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
933

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
804

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
806

Almost all accounts of D-Day are told from the Allied perspective, with the emphasis on how German resistance was overcome on June 6, 1944. But what was it like to be a German soldier in the bunkers and gun emplacements of the Normandy coast, facing the onslaught of the mightiest seaborne invasion in history? What motivated the German defenders, what were their thought processes - and how did they fight from one strong point to another, among the dunes and fields, on that first cataclysmic day?

1 out of 5 stars

A work of fiction

By
John Lindsey
on
05-22-16

Enemy at the Gates

The Battle for Stalingrad

By:
William Craig

Narrated by:
David Baker

Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
572

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
521

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
520

On August 5, 1942, giant pillars of dust rose over the Russian steppe, marking the advance of the 6th Army, an elite German combat unit dispatched by Hitler to capture the industrial city of Stalingrad and press on to the oil fields of Azerbaijan. The Germans were supremely confident; in three years, they had not suffered a single defeat. The Luftwaffe had already bombed the city into ruins. German soldiers hoped to complete their mission and be home in time for Christmas.

4 out of 5 stars

great, but difficult to follow

By
Ed
on
03-19-16

Fur Volk and Fuhrer

The Memoir of a Veteran of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler

By:
Derik Hammond,
Erwin Bartmann

Narrated by:
James Foster

Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
240

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
226

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
226

Like many Germans, Berlin schoolboy Erwin Bartmann fell under the spell of the Zeitgeist cultivated by the Nazis. Convinced he was growing up in the best country in the world, he dreamt of joining the Leibstandarte, Hitler's elite Waffen SS unit. Tall, blond, blue-eyed, and just 17-years-old, Erwin fulfilled his dream on Mayday 1941, when he gave up his apprenticeship at the Glaser bakery in Memeler Strasse and walked into the Lichterfelde barracks in Berlin as a raw, volunteer recruit.

5 out of 5 stars

best WW2 audio of all time

By
Thomas
on
12-30-17

At Leningrad's Gates

The Combat Memoirs of a Soldier with Army Group North

By:
William Lubbeck

Narrated by:
Jonathan Cowley

Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
166

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
151

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
150

This is the remarkable story of a German soldier who fought throughout World War II, rising from conscript private to captain of a heavy weapons company on the Eastern Front. >William Lubbeck, age 19, was drafted into the Wehrmacht in August 1939. As a member of the 58th Infantry Division, he received his baptism of fire during the 1940 invasion of France. The following spring his division served on the left flank of Army Group North in Operation Barbarossa.

4 out of 5 stars

Another Great German Soldier's Memoir

By
Erik
on
12-19-14

The Forgotten Soldier

By:
Guy Sajer

Narrated by:
Derek Perkins

Length: 21 hrs and 48 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,201

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,106

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,099

When Guy Sajer joins the infantry full of ideals in the summer of 1942, the German army is enjoying unparalleled success in Russia. However, he quickly finds that for the foot soldier the glory of military success hides a much harsher reality of hunger, fatigue, and constant deprivation. Posted to the elite Grosse Deutschland division, he enters a violent and remorseless world where all youthful hope is gradually ground down, and all that matters is the brute will to survive.

5 out of 5 stars

A Beautifully Written Heartrending Tragedy

By
Gillian
on
03-31-17

Armor and Blood

The Battle of Kursk: The Turning Point of World War II

By:
Dennis E. Showalter

Narrated by:
Robertson Dean

Length: 10 hrs

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
353

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
317

Story

4 out of 5 stars
318

While the Battle of Kursk has long captivated World War II aficionados, it has been unjustly overlooked by historians. Drawing on the masses of new information made available by the opening of the Russian military archives, Dennis E. Showalter at last corrects that error. This battle was the critical turning point on World War II's Eastern Front. In the aftermath of the Red Army's brutal repulse of the Germans at Stalingrad, the stakes could not have been higher.

5 out of 5 stars

Rich got ot right

By
Frank J. Habic
on
08-28-13

D DAY Through German Eyes

The Hidden Story of June 6th 1944

By:
Holger Eckhertz

Narrated by:
P. J. Ochlan

Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
933

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
804

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
806

Almost all accounts of D-Day are told from the Allied perspective, with the emphasis on how German resistance was overcome on June 6, 1944. But what was it like to be a German soldier in the bunkers and gun emplacements of the Normandy coast, facing the onslaught of the mightiest seaborne invasion in history? What motivated the German defenders, what were their thought processes - and how did they fight from one strong point to another, among the dunes and fields, on that first cataclysmic day?

1 out of 5 stars

A work of fiction

By
John Lindsey
on
05-22-16

Enemy at the Gates

The Battle for Stalingrad

By:
William Craig

Narrated by:
David Baker

Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
572

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
521

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
520

On August 5, 1942, giant pillars of dust rose over the Russian steppe, marking the advance of the 6th Army, an elite German combat unit dispatched by Hitler to capture the industrial city of Stalingrad and press on to the oil fields of Azerbaijan. The Germans were supremely confident; in three years, they had not suffered a single defeat. The Luftwaffe had already bombed the city into ruins. German soldiers hoped to complete their mission and be home in time for Christmas.

4 out of 5 stars

great, but difficult to follow

By
Ed
on
03-19-16

Fur Volk and Fuhrer

The Memoir of a Veteran of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler

By:
Derik Hammond,
Erwin Bartmann

Narrated by:
James Foster

Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
240

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
226

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
226

Like many Germans, Berlin schoolboy Erwin Bartmann fell under the spell of the Zeitgeist cultivated by the Nazis. Convinced he was growing up in the best country in the world, he dreamt of joining the Leibstandarte, Hitler's elite Waffen SS unit. Tall, blond, blue-eyed, and just 17-years-old, Erwin fulfilled his dream on Mayday 1941, when he gave up his apprenticeship at the Glaser bakery in Memeler Strasse and walked into the Lichterfelde barracks in Berlin as a raw, volunteer recruit.

5 out of 5 stars

best WW2 audio of all time

By
Thomas
on
12-30-17

At Leningrad's Gates

The Combat Memoirs of a Soldier with Army Group North

By:
William Lubbeck

Narrated by:
Jonathan Cowley

Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
166

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
151

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
150

This is the remarkable story of a German soldier who fought throughout World War II, rising from conscript private to captain of a heavy weapons company on the Eastern Front. >William Lubbeck, age 19, was drafted into the Wehrmacht in August 1939. As a member of the 58th Infantry Division, he received his baptism of fire during the 1940 invasion of France. The following spring his division served on the left flank of Army Group North in Operation Barbarossa.

4 out of 5 stars

Another Great German Soldier's Memoir

By
Erik
on
12-19-14

The Forgotten Soldier

By:
Guy Sajer

Narrated by:
Derek Perkins

Length: 21 hrs and 48 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,201

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,106

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,099

When Guy Sajer joins the infantry full of ideals in the summer of 1942, the German army is enjoying unparalleled success in Russia. However, he quickly finds that for the foot soldier the glory of military success hides a much harsher reality of hunger, fatigue, and constant deprivation. Posted to the elite Grosse Deutschland division, he enters a violent and remorseless world where all youthful hope is gradually ground down, and all that matters is the brute will to survive.

5 out of 5 stars

A Beautifully Written Heartrending Tragedy

By
Gillian
on
03-31-17

Korsun Pocket

The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East, 1944

By:
Niklas Zetterling,
Anders Frankson

Narrated by:
Dick Hill

Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
70

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
62

Story

4 out of 5 stars
62

During the second half of 1943, after the failure at Kursk, Germany’s Army Group South fell back from Russia under repeated hammer blows from the Red Army. Under Erich von Manstein, however, the Germans were able to avoid serious defeats, while at the same time fending off Hitler’s insane orders to hold on to useless territory. Then, in January 1944, a disaster happened.

5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful historical narative

By
Joseph
on
04-16-13

The German War

A Nation Under Arms, 1939-1945; Citizens and Soldiers

By:
Nicholas Stargardt

Narrated by:
Michael Kramer

Length: 24 hrs and 19 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
525

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
472

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
466

As early as 1941, Allied victory in World War II seemed all but assured. How and why, then, did the Germans prolong the barbaric conflict for three and a half more years? In
The German War, acclaimed historian Nicholas Stargardt draws on an extraordinary range of primary source materials - personal diaries, court records, and military correspondence - to answer this question. He offers an unprecedented portrait of wartime Germany, bringing the hopes and expectations of the German people to vivid life.

5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding.

By
Francis S. Brown
on
06-09-16

The Fleet at Flood Tide

America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945

By:
James D. Hornfischer

Narrated by:
Pete Larkin

Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
533

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
487

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
485

One of America's preeminent military historians, James D. Hornfischer has written his most expansive and ambitious book to date. Drawing on new primary sources and personal accounts of Americans and Japanese alike, here is a thrilling narrative of the climactic end stage of the Pacific War, focusing on the US invasion of the Mariana Islands in June 1944 and the momentous events that it triggered.

5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding history

By
adam
on
11-27-16

The German Aces Speak

World War II Through the Eyes of Four of the Luftwaffe's Most Important Commanders

Few perspectives epitomize the sheer drama and sacrifice of combat more perfectly than those of the fighter pilots of World War II. As romanticized as any soldier in history, the World War II fighter pilot was viewed as larger than life: a dashing soul waging war amongst the clouds. In the 65-plus years since the Allied victory, stories of these pilots' heroics have never been in short supply. But what about their adversaries - the highly skilled German aviators who pushed the Allies to the very brink of defeat?

5 out of 5 stars

The best German side account on record!!

By
Philip Gehman
on
12-19-17

Hitler's Hangman

The Life of Heydrich

By:
Robert Gerwarth

Narrated by:
Napoleon Ryan

Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
175

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
155

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
153

Reinhard Heydrich is widely recognized as one of the great iconic villains of the 20th century, an appalling figure even within the context of the Nazi leadership. Chief of the Nazi Criminal Police, the SS Security Service, and the Gestapo, ruthless overlord of Nazi-occupied Bohemia and Moravia, and leading planner of the "Final Solution," Heydrich played a central role in Hitler's Germany.

5 out of 5 stars

A different perspective on the Third Reich

By
Robyn
on
11-18-16

The Fall of Berlin 1945

By:
Antony Beevor

Narrated by:
Sean Barrett

Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
281

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
262

Story

5 out of 5 stars
260

The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Third Reich in January 1945. Frenzied by their terrible experiences with Wehrmacht and SS brutality, they wreaked havoc - tanks crushing refugee columns, mass rape, pillage, and unimaginable destruction. Hundreds of thousands of women and children froze to death or were massacred; more than seven million fled westward from the fury of the Red Army. It was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known.

5 out of 5 stars

Engrossing

By
Salui
on
09-06-16

Hue 1968

A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam

By:
Mark Bowden

Narrated by:
Joe Barrett

Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
848

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
792

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
790

By January 1968, despite an influx of half a million American troops, the fighting in Vietnam seemed to be at a stalemate. Yet General William Westmoreland, commander of American forces, announced a new phase of the war in which "the end begins to come into view". The North Vietnamese had different ideas. In mid-1967, the leadership in Hanoi had started planning an offensive intended to win the war in a single stroke.

4 out of 5 stars

I KNEW This Book Would Sting Me . . . .

By
Bee Keeper
on
07-28-17

Finland's War of Choice

The Troubled German-Finnish Coalition in World War II

By:
Henrik Lunde

Narrated by:
Tom Parks

Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins

Unabridged

Overall

3.5 out of 5 stars
50

Performance

3.5 out of 5 stars
44

Story

4 out of 5 stars
45

This book describes the odd coalition between Germany and Finland in World War II, and their joint military operations from 1941 to 1945. This is a topic often missing in English, though in stark contrast to the numerous books on the shorter and less bloody Winter War. That conflict represented a gallant fight of a democratic “David” against a totalitarian “Goliath” that caught the imagination of the world. The story of Finland fighting alongside a “Goliath” of its own has not brought pride to that nation and was a period many Finns would rather forget.

1 out of 5 stars

Stay away from this incompetent junk

By
Rob
on
10-19-17

Blitzkrieg

Myth, Reality, and Hitler's Lightning War: France 1940

By:
Lloyd Clark

Narrated by:
Shaun Grindell

Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
47

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
44

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
41

In the spring of 1940, the Germans launched a military offensive in France and the Low Countries that married superb intelligence, the latest military thinking, and new technology. It was a stunning victory, altering the balance of power in Europe in one stroke, and convincing the entire world that the Nazi war machine was unstoppable. But as Lloyd Clark, a leading British military historian and academic, argues, much of our understanding of this victory, and blitzkrieg itself, is based on myth.

5 out of 5 stars

Great analysis

By
notorious24
on
04-28-17

Where the Iron Crosses Grow

The Crimea 1941-44

By:
Robert Forczyk

Narrated by:
Michael Prichard

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
109

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
103

Story

4 out of 5 stars
102

The Crimea was one of the crucibles of the war on the Eastern Front, where first a Soviet and then a German army were surrounded, fought desperate battles, and were eventually destroyed. The fighting in the region was unusual for the Eastern Front in many ways, in that naval supply, amphibious landings, and naval evacuation played major roles, while both sides were also conducting ethnic cleansing as part of their strategy - the Germans eliminating the Jews and the Soviets purging the region of Tartars.

5 out of 5 stars

Superb History

By
ryan j diamond
on
06-17-16

An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa (1942-1943)

The Liberation Trilogy, Volume 1

By:
Rick Atkinson

Narrated by:
George Guidall

Length: 26 hrs and 12 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
862

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
781

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
777

The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and miscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson shows why no modern learner can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. That first year of the Allied war was a pivotal point in American history, the moment when the United States began to act like a great power.

5 out of 5 stars

What war movies didn't tell you

By
jon
on
07-14-13

Stalingrad

By:
David M. Glantz,
Jonathan M. House

Narrated by:
Paul Woodson

Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins

Abridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
23

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
21

Story

4 out of 5 stars
21

Tantor Audio presents the complete audio version of the long awaited one-volume campaign history from the leading experts of the decisive clash of Nazi and Soviet forces at Stalingrad.
Stalingrad is an abridged edition of the five-volume Stalingrad Trilogy.

Publisher's Summary

At the end of September 1941, more than a million German soldiers lined up along the frontline just 180 miles west of Moscow. They were well trained, confident, and had good reasons to hope that the war in the East would be over with one last offensive. Facing them was an equally large Soviet force, but whose soldiers were neither as well trained nor as confident. When the Germans struck, disaster soon befell the Soviet defenders. German panzer spearheads cut through enemy defenses and thrust deeply to encircle most of the Soviet soldiers on the approaches to Moscow. Within a few weeks, most of them marched into captivity, where a grim fate awaited them.

Despite the overwhelming initial German success, however, the Soviet capital did not fall. German combat units as well as supply transport were bogged down in mud caused by autumn rains. General Zhukov was called back to Moscow and given the desperate task to recreate defense lines west of Moscow. The mud allowed him time to accomplish this, and when the Germans again began to attack in November, they met stiffer resistance. Even so, they came perilously close to the capital, and if the vicissitudes of weather had cooperated, would have seized it. Though German units were also fighting desperately by now, the Soviet build-up soon exceeded their own.

The Drive on Moscow: Operation Taifun, 1941 is based on numerous archival records, personal diaries, letters, and other sources. It recreates the battle from the perspective of the soldiers as well as the generals. The battle, not fought in isolation, had a crucial role in the overall German strategy in the East, and its outcome reveals why the failure of the German assault on Moscow may well have been true turning point of World War II.

Niklas Zetterling is a researcher at the Swedish Defense College. Along with Anders Frankson he has previously written Kursk 1943: A Statistical Analysis and The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East, 1944. Both authors currently live in Sweden.

Good review of an important battle

Like most military books I listen too, not having maps available to understand the shape of the battle was challenging. However, the reader did a fine job of pronouncing Russian and German names which helped keep the story clear.

You need a map

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was reasonably well-spent

What do you think your next listen will be?

Bill The Bastard

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The way in which the distances were always converted to imperial measurements for those who do not think metric was annoying. I don't think that anyone who took the time to listen to the book would have needed the distance conversion.

Could you see The Drive on Moscow, 1941 being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Perhaps. Don't know

Any additional comments?

You really need a map to appreciate the locations and where the battles occurred.

Sort by:

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

J

06-27-14

It Certainly Drove The Story Home

A very informative and well created story with plenty to keep the listener paying attention. Given the scale of the battles and advances talked about in this book having a map to hand or giving one a quick review whilst listening is a must as I found it very difficult to follow what was happening at times.

The narrator did quite a good job of maintaining interest however there are others who's narration I have enjoyed more. If you have an interest in World War 2 then this is a great audiobook for anyone who already has plenty of knowledge about the war on the Eastern front or for those looking to start learning about it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

1 out of 5 stars

Dippy

06-08-17

LEAVES OUT THE BEST PART--THE RUSSIA COUNTERATTACK

What made the experience of listening to The Drive on Moscow, 1941 the most enjoyable?

GREAT NARRATION

What was most disappointing about Niklas Zetterling and Anders Frankson ’s story?

LEFT OUT THE RUSSIAN COUNTER OFFENSIVE---SPENT TOO MUCH TIME ON THE GERMAN ENCIRCLEMENT-IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE LAST CHAPTER YOU'D THINK THE GERMANS WON WW2

Which scene did you most enjoy?

POOR HORSES--BUT I DIDN'T ENJOY IT

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

WHAT IF HITLER HADN'T INTERFEARRED? WE'D ALL BE SPEAKING GERMAN NOW.

Any additional comments?

PLEASE, DEAR AUTHORS, WRITE PART 2--THE RUSSIAN DRIVE ON BERLIN--BEGINNING WITH THE COUNTER ATTACK AT MOSCOW